Protect The Future
by Koutonori
Summary: In all honesty, Lucy didn't feel a thing. The pain was nothing but a white noise in the background, taking a back seat to her panic, and all out worry for the man relentlessly fending off a hoard of dragons behind her.


It was stupid really. Some kind of joke, it felt like. There they were, competing to see who the strongest guild around was, when all of a sudden all the mages who ever thought they were good for something were reduced to nothing but powerless ants. In size, and most importantly, power. Some were burnt, some frozen or eaten, and others, from what she saw, they just bled out.

Even her closest friends, her family, had been taken out by the massive, winged, beasts. Erza had been eaten, Gray, ironically, had been frozen and broken to pieces, and poor Juvia who had been right next to him went into a frenzy and was evaporated in a second. Lucy had witnessed these things first hand, she only knew about the others because Natsu told her. Wendy and Charle were grouped into the "bled out" category and Levy and Gajeel were pierced through their hearts by a massive claw, no doubt one trying to protect the other, some dragon's way of a poetic end.

Happy had been with Natsu, helping him into the sky and taking on the dragons from there, but his magic could only last so long. Once it was used up, the pair had fallen to the ground, and Natsu, who did his best to get to his companions side, was too late when a giant, scaled foot came down on him, leaving only a white-tipped tail unscathed.

How her dear dragon slayer friends had ever been raised by these creatures, she couldn't fathom.

The rest, she assumed died in other horrific manners, only because they were no longer there. It was just her and Natsu now, huddled together in a small closure formed by rubble from houses and others buildings.

The city of Crocus was covered in fire and devastation, a far cry away from the way it had been just that morning. The sky turned red, and clouds of smoke covered almost every block of the city, thankfully, yet horribly, giving the pair some semblance of cover.

They sat side by side, their chests heaving from exertion. They'd been running from the beasts for about an hour, maybe longer, hoping to find a place to catch their breath and maybe miraculously regain some magic. Though it was unlikely.

Lucy lowered her head into her knees, covering her neck with her hands. Her eyes were wide and cold, unfeeling, like she hadn't been able to process the loss of her guildmates just yet. Much like when her father died, only the circumstances now were very different.

Natsu could only watch her, unable to process even his own emotions. He was supposed to be a dragon slayer. He was supposed to be able to fight dragons and win. It was what his dad had been training him to do. Yet the best he could do was ward them off, and hopefully take down any smaller ones that came near them.

They just sat, unsure of what to do next.

"I thought they were supposed to be gone…"

Natsu's ear twitched at the small sound of Lucy's voice. He looked over at her, but she was unmoving.

"How did this happen? How are they here all of a sudden? Why…?"

"Lucy…" he said her name with a tone that said "don't". There weren't any answers to her questions, and lingering on them would only bring pain.

Her head finally lifted from her knees but in no way did it bring relief. Natsu's chest ached when the girl finally let her tears fall, and emotion break through her façade of calm.

"WHY?!" She stood up now, tripping a bit in her haste, "They're all gone! Everyone! What the hell is happening?!"

And as if in reply a dragon's roar bellowed around them, shaking the ground they stood on as a shadow passed over them. Natsu, instinctively, lunged toward Lucy and caged her in with his arms. At this point he was done taking chances, if there was even a slight hint of danger he'd do he damn best to make sure she was safe. They'd lost too many to be above caution now.

They stayed in that position for a few moments, waiting until the shadow completely passed, and the roar died down. Natsu, who'd been holding his breath, let out a long sigh of relief. It was the first time they hadn't been spotted when they stopped, so he was going to take it as a good sign.

Lucy, shocked at the sudden contact with her partner, stood frozen, eyes wide when eventually she moved forward and held on to him for dear life. She threw her arms around his torso and balled her hands in the material of his coat, leaving no space between them.

So many things had been running through her head, threatening to tear her mind apart but now all she could think about was how thankful she was that he was here. It was selfish she knew, so goddamn selfish, but there wasn't any way she would've been able to get up and move on if Natsu hadn't found her. Just his presence was enough to keep her sane.

The same could also be said for the pink haired man who was now hugging her back with equal force and burying his face into her neck. All he needed was to just hold onto someone right now, and god was he so grateful that it was Lucy. Happy, one of the best friends and partners he'd ever had, had been killed right in front of him, and he hadn't been able to do a damn thing. He felt so fucking weak, and miserable, and it was all thanks to having Lucy there, something he still needed to protect, that kept him going.

As they held onto each other, their tears falling in different ways, he tried to mumble some kind of comforting words to her. Seeing and hearing her sob like that was bad for his heart, though he guessed it was best she get it out of her system.

"What are w-we going to do-o…?" she stammered into his chest, trying to keep her voice even.

What the hell were they going to do? The time for fighting had come and gone, taking everyone they loved with it. There was no more time for uplifting speeches, and declarations of victory through sheer willpower. There was no way for them to win in what the world had become. The dragons had completely taken over.

Finally, he took a step back, looking her straight in the eyes. She was a mess. Blood trailed down the left side of her face, hair stuck to her neck and bare shoulders covered in grime and dirt, and her eyes that were usually so cheerful were puffy and red around the corners. And he knew he looked no better.

Natsu sighed and glanced down; irritated he didn't have any answers. Hell, Lucy was the smarter one there, but if even she couldn't figure out what to do then…

"I don't have a damn clue…" he admitted, a remorseful expression forming on his face.

Lucy only nodded. It wasn't a fair question, she realized. It was wrong to put that on him. She let go of him and wiped her face, rubbing the tears out of her eyes in the process. It wasn't time to cry or feel miserable; she'd allow that later, right now they had to think of _something,_ anything to get them out of Crocus.

Natsu scratched his head, and leaned against one of the boulders hiding them, "I'm up for ideas." He tried to sound light hearted but it just wasn't coming through.

Lucy nodded again, and began rubbing her temples, a thing she did when she needed to concentrate. Her brain went through everything that happened over and over again, not even asking "why" this time, and there was just no possible way to defeat all the dragons. That much was clear. In result there was only one option and it's what they'd been doing in the first place.

She looked up at him, a sad look on her face, "All we can do is run."

* * *

Natsu squeezed his eyes shut at the meaning of her words. "Run" hadn't ever been a valid option for him. In his ignorance nothing had been too big and bad to run away from. It was always the force of their will that had kept them going and eventually won out, but no amount of "wanting" to defeat their opponent was going to help this time around.

"Goddamnit…" his hands curled into fists as his arms tensed, "GODDAMNIT!"

Lucy winced at the boom of his voice. It seemed they were taking turns at getting worked up.

"I know. I know…" she didn't like it either, but it was their only option.

"God-fuckin…" he crouched down and place his fists over his eyes, "damn it." The strain was almost palpable in his voice, and it made Lucy want to cry again. Though she was definitely hurting, she could imagine what he was going through. The guild had been his family, his friends, since he was a _child_. And Happy… she squeezed her eyes shut at the thought.

"Natsu," the girl bent down to his level and place a hand on the side of his face, trying to get him to look at her, "whatever it is we do we've got to do it now."

She stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in the words she spoke next, "I know… I know it's hard, and I know it seems like there's no hope, but we're still here, right?"

Natsu looked up with an expression she couldn't quite understand and she continued, "We're here, we've got each other, we're not alone so we're not allowed to give up right? Not fighting doesn't mean giving in; sometimes just trying to live _is_ the fight."

"And just know," she tried to express in all seriousness, "whatever you chose to do I'm right behind you. I'm not gonna leave you."

Her words hung in the smoke filled air, and finally Natsu's faced softened, suddenly being reminded of Tenrou Island.

The pink haired man stood up, helping his partner up as well and rubbed the back of his neck, "That's my line…" And despite all things, he reached up and ruffled her hair, like nothing had changed.

"Well, your plan sounds the best." He admitted, "There's nothing left to do here except leave." And though the thought of leaving everyone behind hurt, Lucy was right, they needed to keep moving forward.

She nodded in response, the worry for him in her expression still very clear on her face.

"But damn," he ran a hand through his hair and tried to sound lighthearted for her sake, not knowing how to do that exactly, "this would be a good time for a genie to appear or something. What I wouldn't do for a wish to go back to yesterday morning."

And like a bolt of lightning, another option struck Lucy.

Natsu eyed her curiously as her expression changed rapidly, going from confused, to hopeful, to stressed, and finally to one of deadly serious.

"Eclipse…" she whispered the word to herself, still weaning out the pros and cons of the plan as Natsu's eye's widened.

"Holy shit." The fire mage had forgotten all about the "gates" and the plan to go back in time and kill Zeref. Back then he didn't even give it a second thought after they'd imprisoned Lucy. The only thing that was on his mind was getting her out of there. But now…

Suddenly, another ear-splitting roar sounded out of the sky, much, much closer than last time.

"SHIT!" Natsu grabbed Lucy by her wrist and quickly ran out of their make-do shelter before raging fire came spewing downwards, completely leveling it. The pair didn't stop until they found half of a house, hurriedly ducking behind a wall before they were seen.

Lucy, almost tripping over some ruined books, grabbed both of his forearms and sputtered, "Natsu if we're going to do this we don't have much time. I know you're thinking what I am so tell me if we're gonna attempt this."

Her brown eyes searched his, wincing slightly at the booming noise of buildings being destroyed in the background. He knew it was risky, probably too risky, but either way there was no way they'd both be able to live with themselves if they didn't at least try.

"It would be a last ditch effort Lucy. If it doesn't work-"

"I know!" she cut him off a stern, willing look on her face, "I know."

Natsu held the spirit mages gaze evenly, "Okay, it's now or never."

Lucy acknowledged his approval of the plan and turned her back to him, walking off a bit to see if the coast was clear. They knew where Eclipse was, the only challenge was getting to it.

Now that they had an actual plan, Natsu allowed himself to feel a little like his old self again. And the most prominent feeling he had now was his worry for the woman quietly searching the sky. He couldn't let her die too, not Lucy, but with the risk of this plan there was no way to ensure her safety unless…

Snapping out of his thoughts he sprinted toward his partner as she turned toward him to report, "Okay I think we're good. If we're doing this it's got to be now."

Hesitating for half a second, he grabbed her by her shoulders and demanded her full attention, "Listen, if things go badly and we end up-"

"It won't." she fully rejected his statement immediately and tried to get free of his grasp, which only tightened with the struggle.

"Listen to me! I don't want anything more to happen as much as you do but if things do go bad-"

"I'm telling you it won't!" she was in full denial now, squeezing her eyes shut as she retorted.

"Look around us- at everything that's happened! It wouldn't be too surprising!" he grabbed both sides of her face now, "If anything happens and it looks like we won't make it you get the _hell _out of there. Call Loke or any one of your spirits and escape to the Spirit World, alright? Get mustache man to let you in. I know you don't have any magic left but you find a way. I know you can."

"Promise me. I'll do my best to give you time, but you gotta promise me to do yours."

Lucy opened her eyes and felt a brand new set of anger bubbling inside her, "What the hell makes you think I'm just going to_leave_ you?!"

She swatted his hands off her face and grabbed onto his wrist, "There is no chance I'm doing anything without you! If that even includes dying with you then so be it!"

"Lucy!" Even he was starting to get angry, there was no fucking chance she was gonna die beside him. If he had to call Loke himself he would.

"No! Don't "_Lucy_" me! I told you I wasn't going to leave you! I can't! There's no way!" she was turning red now, "Do you have any idea what you're saying to me?! What if I told you to leave me and escape?! I _know _that you wouldn't so what right do you have to tell me that?!"

"How?!" she began hitting his chest, tears welling in her eyes, "How can you ask me that?! You know I-"

And without thinking, he caught her wrist in his hand and kissed her.

It was a mixture of things, frustration, desperation, a part of him that had wanted to do it for months, but above all else it was mutual.

Surprised at first, but willing in half a second, Lucy grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him in closer. They were both frantic at the contact, needing it for so many things. The loss, the fear, the love, it was all surfacing with their actions. Natsu's hands came to rest on her hair and lower back, clutching at the bare skin there. Lucy's came to the back of his neck and his shoulder, gripping onto it like he was going to disappear. It probably lasted longer than it should have, given their situation, but it was needed. Physical comfort goes a _long_ way in conveying things.

They broke apart and looked at each other and through each other, their breathing heavy and erratic. There was no shyness or timid movements, only seriousness and understanding. Her eyes told him that her mind was made up; there was no giving in to his request. Natsu knew it wasn't fair of him but he needed _something_, anything to ensure she would make it.

Though he wouldn't ask her again, he swore he was still going to do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Breaking their gaze, Lucy grabbed his hand and began their long run toward the ruined castle. Eclipse being the only chance they had to save the future.

* * *

Three hours had passed and they were almost there, they were so close they could actually see some hope ahead of them. After hours of dodging dragons, being found a few times and seeing corpse after corpse, Lucy couldn't have been more grateful to see the place she'd been imprisoned in in what seemed like years ago.

After a few more minutes of hiding behind walls, and dashing to the next fallen building, they finally made it to the castle. And like God himself had put it there, Eclipse was standing tall to the far right of them, probably only a mile away. She strained her eyes to see further and saw that the gates were open, but closing slowly.

Lucy turned to her partner, "Do you hear any of them nearby?" Even if he was out of magical power, his senses were still in commission,

Natsu paused for a moment, concentrating, "No. I don't think so."

His brows furrowed in frustration. All the noise from the destruction behind them was messing with his ears. Everything sounded like a jumbled mess of roars and explosions.

Lucy took that for what it was and Natsu spoke again, "You ready?"

She nodded, and turned her head back to their goal, "Let's go."

The two burst into a sprint, moving their legs as fast as they could, chests heaving and hearts yearning for the chance to fix their reality. They hopped over broken fountains, and burnt flower beds relentlessly until they were within spitting distance of the gates.

The spirit mage involuntarily let out a hysterical bubble of laughter, "Natsu the gate's closing!" she turned to loom back at him, "Hurry-" Her breath caught in her throat as, just like the beginning of all this, a sick joke was being pulled.

A dragon lowered itself to the ground with a resounding boom, sending the pair stumbling to the ground. The fire mage quickly recovered and brought his hand up to attack with a fist full of fire, but sudden realization of magic not working around the gates sent the blood rushing out of his head.

The dragon's voice thundered outward and Natsu began to panic at the lack of Lucy in his vision. He whipped his head around until he saw Lucy running toward him, her arms stretched out screaming something he couldn't hear.

And like he had sworn to himself, he did what he knew had to be done.

Instead of letting the girl come to him, he dashed forward, avoiding the swings of the dragon behind him, and pushed her toward the gates. Closer and closer until he was close enough to practically throw her a good ways in.

Boy was he going to get it later.

Lucy stumbled forward inside the blackness of Eclipse and fell to her knees, frantically standing up to get back to Natsu's side. She ran with her right arm outstretched, begging for him to follow her in, but it was too late. The dragon had her partner cornered.

"Natsu!"

The last words she heard from him were, "Lucy, protect the future!"

And with the remaining strength in her body she lurched forward, trying to escape the doors but they only closed on her right hand instead.

The darkness enveloped her as she cried out in pain, tearing her throat apart in the procces. Whether the hurt was from the loss of her hand, or the loss of her best friend, she didn't know.

* * *

A/N: Just a one-shot based off a comic of Yaushie's on tumblr. there's some canon inconsistencies for the sake of fitting the comic, but nothing major that effects the over all canon plot. I hadn't uploaded it here, sooo yep.


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